Research that Informs Business and Public Policy
Lessons learned from our last go-round with energy efficiency stimulus spending. Last week it was reported that 1 in 4 American workers have filed for unemployment benefits during this pandemic. … Continue Reading The Search for Good Green Stimulus
How do we foster innovation to solve COVID-19 and climate change? Ten days ago the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency approval for remdesivir. It’s too soon to know … Continue Reading Remdesivir, Low-Carbon Energy, and the Origins of Innovation
Last week’s EPA decision adds insult to injury for our already vulnerable communities. Perhaps you missed it. There’s a lot going on right now. But amidst all the COVID-19 headlines … Continue Reading What Just Happened to the Mercury Rule?
Can we squeeze some long-run good out of this short-run disaster? The coronavirus has upended life in my household. I’m now toggling between teaching first-grade math and undergraduate economics, and … Continue Reading COVID-19 and the Climate
High retail electricity prices, not economic value, are driving U.S. investments in rooftop solar. If you were starting from scratch and could install the United States’ 22,500 MW of rooftop … Continue Reading Putting Solar in All the Wrong Places
A new paper reveals the financial and environmental costs of Germany’s nuclear power phaseout. I spent the first fifteen years of my life in Northern Bavaria, right next to the … Continue Reading No Nukes, Mo Problems.
Regional market coordination delivers a win for climate change mitigation. There’s an important experiment underway in the Western United States as we inject more and more renewable energy into the … Continue Reading The Little Energy Market That Could
Mexico’s decision to suspend renewables auctions is bad news for Mexican electricity consumers. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (“AMLO”) has only been in office for 8 months, but he … Continue Reading Mexico Goes Backward on Renewables
Saving energy and saving the climate are not the same thing. A couple years ago I took Severin’s advice and proactively replaced many of my still-working incandescent light bulbs with … Continue Reading Redirecting Energy Efficiency Policies for the Climate
It has a face that only economists can love? We economists have long been enamored with carbon pricing. The concept is simple and sensible. If the economic damages from greenhouse … Continue Reading The Trouble with Carbon Pricing
A recent experience with Uber/Lyft brought home the limits of market incentives. Max has been dreaming about a clean, autonomous future. Meanwhile, Uber and Lyft are both talking about initial … Continue Reading How Should We Regulate Safety for Autonomous Vehicles?
You aren’t getting “green electrons”, but charging at the right times still lowers GHG emissions. I spent a fascinating few days at the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) last month, … Continue Reading Charging With the Sun
Environmental damages from U.S. power plants are down $100+ billion annually since 2010. Remember 2010? It was not so long ago. Obama was President. The iPhone 4 was introduced. The … Continue Reading U.S. Power Plant Emissions Down 45% Since 2010
An inventor, fracking, history and the future. If you have been following this blog for a while, you know that we rotate Mondays. And, if you’ve been following it for … Continue Reading 2018 Energy Books
Many Community Choice Aggregators are marketing clean energy by simply rearranging where existing low-carbon electricity goes. Change is potentially afoot for me this November, and I’m not talking about the … Continue Reading What Are You Getting If You Buy Clean Electricity?
Investments in charging infrastructure may encourage electric vehicle adoption even more than vehicle standards. Electric vehicles have taken off in the US. In 2017, electric vehicle sales surged by 25%. … Continue Reading Counteracting the EPA’s Tilt Away from Electric Vehicles
